It's Dark In A Cold December, But I've Got You To Keep Me Warm
by DaniiButNotBeck
Summary: A collection of unrelated stories centered around Christmas/wintertime.
1. Chapter 1

Title: A Cabenson Christmas

Pairing: Alex Cabot/Olivia Benson

Rating: T

Summary: A collection of unrelated stories for the 12 Days of Christmas.

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day One: Prompt by Batpig: Christmas tree faux or real?<span>

They are 22 and they are invincible.

Well, not really, but that's how Olivia feels as she walks into her – no, _their_ – apartment, a bouquet of red roses in her hand. She stops just inside the doorway and just watches as Alex dances to the Christmas music playing loudly from the stereo.

Alex spins around, stopping dead in her tracks as she sees Olivia, her hand resting over her heart. She smiles widely. "You scared me."

Olivia grins, her heart aflutter with the amount of love she feels for the woman standing in the living room. "I didn't mean to."

Alex shakes her head, rushing forward and throwing her arms around Olivia. "How was your day?"

Olivia sighs, sinking into the embrace. "It was a day," she says, "but it's better now that I'm home."

Alex laughs. "God, you're such a sap."

Olivia shakes her head, laughing. "Yeah," she says, "but I'm your sap."

"Speaking of sap," Alex begins and Olivia rolls her eyes at the horrible segue, "we need to get a Christmas tree."

"Why?" Olivia whines, pulling out of the embrace. "It's just going to make a mess everywhere."

"But it's _tradition_, Liv."

Olivia tries to resist – she really does – but Alex is pouting and she can feel her resolve wavering. "If we ever have kids, I'm screwed," she mumbles. She sighs, pushing her hand through her hair. "Okay, okay," she says. "We'll get a tree. A fake one, Alex. We don't need that mess in here."

Alex nods, trying her best to look serious. "Yes," she says, "of course."

Olivia sighs, her shoulders dropping. "We're getting a real one, aren't we?"

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><p>.<p>

They end up at a tree farm an hour later. Alex closes the car door and looks out at the pathetic display of leftover trees. "We really shouldn't have waited until the 23rd."

Olivia sighs, taking hold of Alex's hand. "I guess we're getting a fake one then."

Alex shakes her head and swats at Olivia with her free hand. "Don't be ridiculous, Liv," she says. "I'm sure we can find a decent one."

Alex spends over an hour combing through the trees while Olivia follows her around, frozen hands shoved into the pockets of her jeans. Every time she thinks Alex has finally decided on a tree, Alex finds something about it she doesn't like.

"It's our first Christmas in our new apartment, Liv," she says time and time again. "It has to be perfect."

Olivia can't fault her there – she always wants this Christmas to be perfect – so she just shuts her mouth and continues following Alex around.

"Perfect!" Alex exclaims, scaring Olivia so badly that she actually jumps. "This one's perfect."

Olivia squints, looking at the tree. It's small, definitely less than five feet tall, and thin, and it looks like it's missing some branches in a couple spots, but Alex is grinning like it's the most beautiful tree she has ever seen so Olivia grins too and reaches out to grab Alex's hand. "Perfect," she says.

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	2. Chapter 2

Title: A Cabenson Christmas

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Two: OTP Prompts: Person B arrives at a Christmas party sick, and Person A decides to cuddle Person B and take care of Person B all night.<span>

The annual Special Victims Unit Christmas Eve party is in full-swing. Soda cans line the area on the counter surrounding the coffee machine, and various types of cookies and cupcakes are stacked high on a table dragged out from storage. Christmas music plays from the radio and the desks have been pushed aside to allow for an impromptu dance party.

Olivia leans back against the closed door to Cragen's office, gratefully clutching her third cup of coffee of the night. She closes her eyes, resting her head against the door.

"I thought you'd be long gone by now."

Olivia grins, cracking one eye open to get a look at Alex. "So did I."

"So why aren't you?"

Olivia shrugs. "I guess someone made it worth my while to show up."

Alex barely resists the urge to roll her eyes. "That's the cheesiest sentence I've heard all day."

Olivia shrugs, laughing. "What d'you expect, Alex? I've been up for the last fifty hours."

"You're not really looking too good either."

"Gee, thanks."

"I'm serious, Liv," Alex says, pressing the back of her hand to Olivia's forehead. "Do you feel like you're coming down with something?"

Olivia rolls her eyes, ducking away from Alex's hand. "I'm _fine_, Alex. I swear."

Alex sighs, shaking her head. "If you say so," she says. "But I want you to remember that when you're sick tomorrow morning."

"I will," Olivia says, flashing Alex a cocky grin, "because I'm not going to be sick tomorrow morning."

_Famous last words_, Alex thinks.

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><p>.<p>

Two hours later, Alex finds Olivia curled up in one of the beds above the squadroom. Her hair is plastered to her head with sweat and she's shaking even though she's covered with three blankets.

Alex carefully sits on the edge of the bed, gently resting her hand on Olivia's sleeping form. "Liv," she says, "we should get you home."

Olivia groans. "Don't wanna. Gonna stay here."

Alex smiles lightly. "I thought you were just fine?"

"Please don't brag about it."

"Brag about what?"

"Being right."

"So you are sick?"

Olivia sits up slowly, her whole world feeling like it is spinning around her and it's not just because of how close Alex is sitting. "Apparently."

Alex shakes her head. "C'mon," she says. "Captain Cragen is the only one still here so there's no one to pick on you downstairs. Let's get you home."

With just a bit more coaxing, Alex manages to get Olivia out of the bed, into a cab, and to her apartment before she falls asleep.

"Are you going to stay?" Olivia asks, tucked comfortably into her bed.

Alex pauses in the doorway of Olivia's bedroom and turns around, smiling at Olivia. "Of course," she says. "I'm not going to leave you here to be sick on your own."

"No, I mean..." She groans, pushing herself to a sitting position. "Will you stay in here with me?"

"Oh," Alex says. She nods and walks back toward Olivia's bed. "Try not to get me sick, Benson."

Olivia laughs quietly. "I'll do my best."

(Three days later, Alex leaves work early with body aches and a spiking fever. So much for not getting sick.)

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	3. Chapter 3

Title: A Cabenson Christmas

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Three: OTP Prompts: Imagine your OTP wearing dumb, ugly Christmas sweaters. Bonus points if they match. Even bigger bonus points if Person A or B was the one to make the sweaters and the other grudgingly wears it to not hurt their feelings.<span>

Honestly, the sweaters are hideous. They're really, truly ugly. And Olivia isn't sure if she hates them more because they have pipe cleaners hanging off of them or because they look like a glitter factory threw up on them, but it is safe to say that Olivia absolutely despises these sweaters.

"Do I really have to wear this?" Olivia asks, looking down at the sweater with obvious disdain.

Alex frowns. "Well, you don't have to, but Lizzie was looking forward to seeing Aunty Olivia in the sweater she made."

Olivia sighs. "But Alex, they're so..." She searches for the right word, but at Alex's disapproving look, settles for: "Glittery."

"She's four, Liv."

"I know, I know. I just wish she hadn't used an entire container of glitter on it."

Alex sighs, looking down at her own sweater, Elsa's mocking cartoon face staring up at her. "You should feel lucky," she says, "at least you don't have to wear Elsa all night."

"I thought you liked _Frozen_."

"I did. The first two or three times. But I wasn't really counting on having to wear it all night."

Olivia smirks. "Are you doubting your sweater, Alex?"

Alex sighs, shaking her head. "It's such a terrible sweater, but I love that child so I'm going to wear it." Alex sighs again and slips the sweater on over her head. "How do I look?"

A sudden burst of love and adoration hit Olivia square in her chest as she looks at Alex and her total willingness to wear such an ugly sweater just to make her niece happy. She smiles. "You're going to make a fantastic mother someday, Alex."

Alex blushes, looking down at her sweater. _Maybe they aren't so bad after all._

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	4. Chapter 4

Title: A Cabenson Christmas

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Four: Providence26: Alex makes *insert relevant Christmas baking dish here* and takes it to the 1-6, Liv pre-warns everyone that she will remove their manhood if there is even the tiniest slight made towards Alex's attempt at baking (you get to decide if it turns out as bad as everyone is expecting or if she proves them wrong).<span>

"I'm just saying," Olivia says in a tone that implies a threat behind the words, "that when Alex gets here, you eat whatever she made, thank her, tell her it was good, and then move on with your life."

Elliot looks up from the file on his desk and grins at his partner. "Or what?"

Olivia shrugs, looking around the squadroom to make sure no one is listening, Munch and Fin in particular. "I'll make sure you're never able to have sex with your wife again."

Elliot looks down at his lap then back up at Olivia, aghast. "You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Elliot shakes his head, running his hand over his hair. "You know I've been nothing but nice to Alex since you started dating."

Olivia snorts. "You're such a liar, Elliot."

"Okay," Elliot says, "name one time I've been unkind to her since you two started dating."

"Four days ago," Olivia says. "Alex couldn't get us a warrant because we didn't have enough evidence and you called her an asshole."

Elliot rubs the back of his neck, looking at her sheepishly. "That was strictly professional," he says. "What about personally?"

Olivia laughs. "You can't professionally call someone an asshole, El."

"You know what I mean, Liv. I'm just saying that you guys come over for dinner almost every Sunday and I have never been unkind to her on a personal level."

Olivia shakes her head. "Okay," she says, "I'll give you that. But I'm serious, Elliot Stabler, if you say even one negative thing about Alex's baking, I will shoot you."

Elliot mock salutes her, smirking. "Yes, ma'am."

Olivia sighs, rolling her eyes, and goes back to working on the paperwork in front of her.

Less than an hour later, Olivia hears the distinct sound of heels on linoleum and looks up just as Alex walks into the squadroom carrying a large tray. "Hey," she says, standing to greet Alex with a kiss, "whatcha got there?"

Alex grins widely, lowering the tray so Olivia can get a good look into it. "Gingerbread people."

Olivia lifts the cover off the tray and looks down at the gingerbread people. They look, quite honestly, perfect. She takes one, bites into it, and nearly moans because of how good it is. "Oh my god, Alex," she says. "This is amazing."

Alex smirks. "And you thought I couldn't bake."

"I had the utmost faith in you."

Alex quirks her eyebrow. "What's the last thing you said to me before you left this morning?"

Olivia grins sheepishly. "I love you?"

"After that."

Olivia looks down at the cookie in her hand. "Try not to burn the building down," she mumbles.

Elliot grins, reaching across his desk to grab a cookie. He breaks a piece off and pops it into his mouth. "You were definitely wrong to doubt her, Liv. These cookies are about as good as...Kathy's." He breaks off another piece and pops it into his mouth, chewing it thoughtfully.

Alex fidgets, the tops of her ears turning bright red. "I may have had some...help," she says.

"Some help?" Olivia asks, grinning.

Alex looks down at the cookies on Olivia's desk. "Well, you see, the first batch was okay, except they didn't have a taste because I forgot a couple of the spices. And the second batch wouldn't have been bad if they weren't burnt beyond edible. So I might have called Kathy and she might have helped me with the third batch."

Olivia shakes her head, still smiling. She leans up and kisses Alex again. "Thank you," she says. "But make sure you take some of these home."

Alex smirks. "Oh no," she says. "You have a batch waiting for you." She winks at Olivia then says her goodbyes and leaves the squadroom.

"Are they the burnt ones?" Olivia yells, watching Alex board the elevator. "Alex, are they the burnt ones?" She sighs, sinking into her chair, as the elevator doors close. "I can't believe this."

Elliot smirks, taking another cookie. "Looks like you're the one that needs to learn to keep their mouth shut."

Olivia flashes him a dirty look and balls up a piece of paper and chucks it at his head. "Go to hell, Stabler."

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	5. Chapter 5

Title: A Cabenson Christmas

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Five: OTP Prompts: Your OTP are spending their first Christmas together and are pretty strapped for cash. But they each want to give the other something special for the holiday. What happens next?<span>

Their studio apartment is small, much smaller than the penthouse Alex can technically afford. But Olivia is adamant in her desire to live like normal 22-year-olds and that means struggling. And even though Alex would prefer to break into her trust fund and treat Olivia the way she deserves to be treated, she won't.

Instead, she sighs and stares down at the screen of her phone, the bold numbers of her checking account mocking her. With Christmas just two weeks away, she's starting to feel the pinch now more than ever. With another sigh, she locks her phone screen and looks around the modestly decorated apartment.

"You look mildly disappointed," Olivia says, coming out of the bathroom with her uniform only halfway on. "What's wrong?"

Alex stands and moves to button up Olivia's shirt, relishing in the way this simple action has remained a crucial part of their everyday routine since the day Olivia graduated from the police academy. "We're struggling, Liv. Struggling to pay the rent; struggling to buy food; struggling to pay the bills on time. Christmas is right around the corner and I have $67 in my account. How is that going to pay for anything?"

Olivia smiles, leaning up to kiss Alex softly. "Don't worry about Christmas, Al. I have everything I could ever want."

"You're sweet, but it's coming down to the wire. I'm going to transfer some money over from my trust fund. We need to, Liv. There's no other choice now."

Olivia sighs, pushing her hand through her hair. "Okay," she says. "You're right."

Alex breathes a sigh of relief, kissing Olivia again. "I love you so much," she says. "And I love that you wanted to do this the right way, but I love you too much to let us struggle this much when I can easily keep us happy."

"I know. I just..." Olivia sighs, flopping down onto the couch. "I spent my entire life struggling so it's all I really know and I don't want to get used to having money because it could all be gone in a second."

Alex sits down on the couch beside Olivia, her hand resting on Olivia's knee. "I'm not going anywhere," she says. "You're it for me."

"I know," Olivia says. "I love you too."

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><p>.<p>

There aren't any gifts under the tree come Christmas morning, and Alex spends the first twenty minutes she is awake just staring at how empty it is. But then Olivia is awake and kissing her like their lives depend on it and she is surrounded by love and happiness and she honestly thinks there will never be a better Christmas than this.

She still wishes there were presents though.

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	6. Chapter 6

Title: A Cabenson Christmas

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Six: OTP Prompts: Imagine your OTP meeting when the fire alarm in their building goes off at 3am on Christmas morning and both of them are wearing next to nothing while waiting outside for firefighters to take care of the situation.<span>

Olivia stands as close to the firetruck as she can manage without impeding the firefighters in their plight to stop her building from burning to the ground, attempting to steal as much of its heat as she can. She crosses her arms over her chest and presses her body against the truck, but the metal is cold against her skin and her NYPD tanktop and boxers are completely ineffective against the freezing night air.

"Excuse me," a voice says, and Olivia turns to see her new neighbor standing behind her with a large blanket draped over her shoulders. "Hi, I'm Alex. I just moved in acr-"

"Across the hall, yeah." Olivia smiles. "I'm Olivia."

"Olivia," Alex repeats, and her eyes rake over Olivia's body in a way that is so utterly indecent that Olivia almost blushes. "I, um, I couldn't help but notice that you're standing out here in the freezing cold with nothing but...what you're wearing, which is admittedly very little, and I have a blanket big enough for two if you feel like sharing?"

Olivia accepts the invitation gratefully and quickly steps into the open spot beside Alex, sighing happily as the warm blanket covers her shoulders. "I don't think I've ever appreciated a blanket this much in my entire life."

They get to talking and it's a while later that they realize they talked through the rest of the evacuation and the building is starting to fill back up.

"Well," Olivia says, stepping out into the cold from underneath the blanket, "I guess that means it's time to go back inside."

Alex frowns. "I suppose."

They walk back into the building and Olivia briefly stops at Alex's door to say goodnight before heading into her own apartment. Once inside, she leans back against the closed door and grins. Mere seconds later, there is a knock at her door and she opens it, smirking, already knowing who is on the other side.

Alex frowns. "You knew I forgot my keys, didn't you?"

Olivia laughs. "I had a feeling."

Alex rolls her eyes. "Maybe you should've clued me in."

"But then we wouldn't be having this conversation."

Alex laughs. "You're an asshole. You know that, right?"

Olivia grins, stepping aside to let Alex into her apartment. "So I've heard."

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	7. Chapter 7

Title: A Cabenson Christmas

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Seven: Prompt: Imagine Person A singing "Do You Want To Build A Snowman?" to Person B, dragging them outside while it's snowing. They start a snowman-building competition and after a while, Person A calls B over. In Person A's snowman's hand lies a small box and Person B's eyes widen as A asks for their hand.<span>

"It snowed!" Alex whispers excitedly, standing at the window overlooking the city. "Liv, wake up! It snowed!"

Olivia bolts upright startled from her sound sleep. "Wha?"

Alex bursts into the bedroom, already pulling on jeans and a jacket. "It snowed!"

Olivia blinks, rubbing at her tired eyes. "What?"

Alex huffs, annoyed. "It snowed," she says. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Olivia groans, throwing her pillow over her face. "Please don't."

"It doesn't have to be a snowman."

"Go away, Alex."

Alex snickers, pulling the pillow off Olivia's face. "Do you wanna build a snowman? Or a snowfort in the Park?"

"I hate that song."

Alex rolls her eyes, climbing up onto the bed. She straddles Olivia, pinning her hands above her head. "Do you wanna build a snowman?"

Olivia whines, closing her eyes tightly. "This is a terribly unfair situation. Why do you hate me?"

Alex laughs and leans down to kiss Olivia softly. "I love you."

"There's no way I'm getting out of this, is there?"

Alex shakes her head. "Come on, let's go and play." She hops off Olivia and heads to the kitchen, still singing.

Olivia shakes her head, grinning. She gets out of bed, pulls on snow-appropriate clothes, and brushes her teeth. She meets Alex in the kitchen a few minutes later.

"I thought you were going to try to stay in bed," Alex says, handing Olivia a mug of coffee.

Olivia takes a sip of her coffee, moaning appreciatively. "I would've, but you seem awfully excited and who am I to deny you this even though I can't begin to fathom why you'd be so happy about snow."

Alex grins, leaning over to kiss Olivia. "I love you."

Olivia laughs against her lips. "So you've said."

"I'm not allowed to tell you more than once per day?"

"Of course you are," Olivia says, leaning up to kiss Alex. "I love you."

It takes them a while longer to finally get outside, but as soon as they get out into the snow Alex immediately launches into a snowman-building competition.

If it was a real competition, they would both lose.

Olivia's snowman is nothing more than two oversized snowballs stacked on top of each other with two rocks for the eyes and more snow for the mouth.

Alex's snowman is a bit better in that it has three sections, rocks for the eyes and mouth, and twigs for arms, but it is still lopsided and misshapen and Alex can't bring herself to look at it for more than a few minutes at a time.

When she is finished building her snowman, Alex glances over at Olivia, relieved to find that she is glaring at her own snowman with her hands on her hips. Very quickly, she slips a small box from her jacket pocket and rests it on the fork of the snowman's twig arm.

"Oh come on," Olivia says, turning around to see Alex's snowman. "How is your so good and mine is so...blah?"

Alex laughs. "Yours is missing a section."

Olivia looks down at her snowman, frowning. "Oh." She shakes her head and walks over to Alex's snowman, carefully inspecting it until her gaze falls on the little box on its hand. She picks up the box and looks at Alex, quirking her eyebrow.

Alex looks down at the ground, wringing her hands. "Open it."

Olivia pops open the top of the box and looks down at the most beautiful engagement ring she has ever seen. She looks back up at Alex and swallows hard.

Alex meets her eyes, grinning. "You and I," she says, "we've had a long of ups and downs, a lot of missteps, a lot of screw-ups. But we've also had a lot of good times, and I know we have so much more to go through together. So I'm asking you, Olivia Benson: Will you marry me?"

Olivia nods, tears welling in her eyes. "Yes," she says. "Yes, absolutely."

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	8. Chapter 8

Title: It's Dark In A Cold December, But I've Got You To Keep Me Warm

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

Author's Note 2: This prompt was more of a guideline and less of a prompt because I am trash.

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><p><span>Day Eight: OTP Prompts: Person A is growing depressed as the holidays approach because the recent loss of their parents mean that this will be their first holiday season they spend alone, but person B is a longtime friend and notices, and invites person A to spend the holidays with them, leading to them growing closer and eventually person A admitting long held feelings for person B that had grown more intense due to the kindness they had been shown.<span>

"C'mon, Alex," Olivia yells, resting her head against Alex's apartment door, "let me in." She's been standing outside the apartment for the last twenty minutes, waiting for Alex to open the door. "Your neighbors are gonna call the police, Alex. Just let me in."

There is a loud thump against the door and then Alex says, "You are the police."

Olivia groans. "Can you please just open the door?"

"Why?"

"I want to talk to you."

"Then talk."

Olivia rubs at the back of her neck. "Through the door?"

"Yes, Olivia, through the door."

"Where people can hear us?"

Alex's resulting laugh is harsh. "Why does it _matter_ if people hear us, Liv? Why does any of this _matter_?"

Olivia's stomach twists into knots. "I don't know," she says, "but it does." She rests her palm flat against the door. "I know your parents just died, Alex, and you're on your own in this city, and I know how tough it is, but you're not alone."

The door creeks open partway and Olivia almost tumbles into Alex's apartment, just barely catching herself at the last second. "What I mean is: I'm here for you. I know what it's like to be alone."

Alex opens the door the rest of the way and looks at Olivia, swallowing hard. "What do you do?" she asks. "To curb the loneliness, I mean."

Olivia shrugs, shoving her hands into the pockets of her jeans. "I work," she says, "and when I can't work, I…go to the gym."

Alex nods. "Neither of those are very viable options for right now."

"I could always spend the holidays with you?" Olivia says, looking up to meet Alex's eyes. "If you want me to, I mean. I don't have any plans and I don't really feel like spending another Christmas with cold take-out and whatever's on tv."

"You'd do that for me?"

"Yeah, of course."

"Why?"

_Now's your chance, Benson_, Olivia thinks. _Don't fuck this up. _She looks down at her feet, chewing on the inside of her bottom lip. "Because you don't have to spend Christmas alone, Alex. And, I mean, we've been friends for a long time and somewhere along the way I looked at you and saw someone who was more than a friend to me."

Alex sighs, a weight falling from her shoulders. "Liv…"

But Olivia is already backing away from the door, shaking her head. "That was so out of line," she says. "God, how insensitive can I be? I mean, you _just _lost your parents. That was incred—"

Alex cuts her off with a sudden kiss and Olivia sighs against her lips. When Alex finally pulls back, she smiles at Olivia and says, "What took you so long?"

Olivia laughs, kissing Alex again.

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><p>.<p> 


	9. Chapter 9

Title: It's Dark In A Cold December, But I've Got You To Keep Me Warm

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Nine: Providence26: After shift one night, they happen to be in the same bodegagrocery store, Liv catches Alex buying milk and cookies and jokingly asks if they are for Santa, Alex's blush and failure to meet her eyes tells her everything.

Just inside the door of the little grocery store a few blocks from her apartment, Olivia stops and shakes the snow from her jacket. With a groan, she grabs a basket and sets off to find herself something for supper.

It's Christmas Eve and, of course, she had forgotten until she went to order from her favorite Italian place and found they were closed. So she had been forced to either starve or brave the weather to pick something up from the food store.

As she rounds the corner into the refrigerated section, she spots a very familiar mane of blonde hair. "Alex?"

Alex turns around quickly, looking like a child caught with their hand in the cookie jar. A blush begins to cover her neck. "Liv? What are you doing here?"

Olivia smiles her crooked smile and holds up the basket in her hand. "I forgot it was Christmas Eve."

Alex chuckles, attempting to hide her own basket. "Well, it's been a hectic week so I'm not really surprised."

Olivia shakes her head. "I'm surprised to see you out this late though," she says. "I thought you had some party to go to."

Alex sighs. "I cancelled."

"So you're stuck making your own dinner too?"

Alex looks down at the floor. "Yeah," she says.

But Olivia isn't buying it, especially since Alex still looks incredibly guilty. "You already ate, didn't you?" She looks over at the milk area and then back at Alex's rapidly-reddening face. "Aren't you lactose intolerant?"

"Liv—"

"You're buying milk and cookies for Santa, aren't you?"

By now, Alex has turned almost the color of a firetruck and she's still adamantly refusing to look at Olivia.

Olivia shakes her head, smiling. "You're adorable, Alex. You really are."

Alex finally looks up, meeting Olivia's eyes. "It's tradition," she says. "We used to set them out every year when I was a kid, but we stopped when I moved out on my own. Then WitSec happened and it just kind of made sense to start doing it again."

Olivia grabs a carton of milk and sets it in her basket. "I think I'll have to leave some out too."

Alex beams at her. "Merry Christmas, Olivia."

"Merry Christmas, Alex."

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><p>.<p>

Happy New Year, everyone!


	10. Chapter 10

Title: It's Dark In A Cold December, But I've Got You To Keep Me Warm

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Ten: OTP Prompts: Imagine your OTP on Christmas morning. Person A is asleep and Person B wants to wake them up. They try, but A doesn't want to wake up so B proceeds to press their cold fingertips against A's warm skin.<span>

"Oliviiiiiiiia," Alex says, perched upon their bed, her whole body practically vibrating with Christmas-morning excitement. "It's time to get up."

Olivia groans, rolling onto her side away from Alex. "Five more minutes."

"No," Alex whines, her excitement getting the best of her. "It's Christmas, Liv. You have to get up."

"The presents are still going to be there in half an hour, Alex."

"It's the principle of the matter, Olivia."

Olivia sighs. "I'll get up in a few minutes. I promise."

"Okay," Alex says, "but I'm holding you to that."

Olivia nods, already falling back to sleep.

Alex wanders out of the bedroom and into the kitchen. She places the tray of cinnamon rolls into the oven and starts the coffee machine. She crosses her arms over her chest and looks into the living room at the Christmas tree, then out the window at the snow falling onto the balcony.

She grins mischievously and crosses the living room. Opening the door to the balcony, she steps out into the cold and submerges her hands in the growing pile of snow. When she is sufficiently pleased with their level of cold, she steps back into the apartment and makes a beeline for the bedroom.

Olivia is asleep on her stomach in the center of the bed, the blankets pool at her waist and the hem of her tanktop is riding up, leaving the lower part of her back exposed.

Alex creeps over to the bed, climbs up very carefully to ensure Olivia doesn't wake up, and straddles her. She places her hands on the bare spot of Olivia's back and pushes them up until she hits warm skin.

Olivia shrieks, flipping over onto her back faster than Alex anticipated. Alex hits them bed with a soft _thump_, giggling.

"What the _hell_, Alex?" Olivia yells.

Still giggling, Alex pushes herself up to a sitting position. She shrugs. "It's time for you to get up."

Olivia grabs the nearest pillow and tosses it at Alex, falling back onto the bed. "You suck."

Alex grins. "You love me."

Olivia sighs. "Yeah, I do."

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><p>.<p> 


	11. Chapter 11

Title: It's Dark In A Cold December, But I've Got You To Keep Me Warm

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Eleven: Providence26: Xmas SVU fancy dress – Alex's costume comes with a fake moustache – she kisses Liv hello, the 'stache tickles her and makes her giggle, it is the first time Alex has ever heard her giggle like a kid and is enchanted.<span>

"Holy shit," Olivia breathes, walking into the apartment.

Standing in the living room, Alex is dressed in one of those sexy Mrs. Claus costumes, complete with a curly white wig. Alex turns around, the corner of her lips pulling down in a frown. "Do you think this is too much?"

Olivia takes off her jacket, hanging it on the hook behind the door. "For what?"

Alex rolls her eyes, sighing. "Abbie's Christmas party, remember? We said we'd go weeks ago."

Olivia groans, plopping down on the couch. "Please don't make me got to that, Alex."

Looking down at Olivia, Alex quirks her eyebrow. "So you'd rather have me go alone dressed like this?"

"I'd rather neither of us go and you can wear that around the house, honestly."

Shaking her head, Alex looks away from Olivia, hiding the smile threatening to spread over her lips. "You're incorrigible, you know that, right?"

Olivia grins. "Do we still have to go to the party?"

"We promised."

Olivia groans, pouting. "Fine," she says, standing to head toward the bathroom, "I'll go, but I won't be happy about it."

Alex rolls her eyes, affixing a fake moustache to right above her top lip. She grabs Olivia's wrist before she gets out of reach and pulls her to her, their bodies nearly touching. "You know I'll make it worth your while afterward."

"Okay," Olivia says, still pouting.

Alex leans forward and kisses Olivia. The fake moustache tickles Olivia and when she pulls back her nose is scrunched up adorably and she is _giggling_.

Alex looks at her, utterly enchanted. She kisses Olivia again and is rewarded with the same magical giggle.

"I know what you're doing," Olivia says.

"I'm not doing anything."

"You're trying to bribe me into going."

"I thought we already established that."

"We did, but now you're trying to cement it into my mind."

Alex laughs, leaning forward to kiss Olivia again. "You're ridiculous."

Olivia rolls her eyes, still giggling. "That's why you love me."

* * *

><p>.<p> 


	12. Chapter 12

Title: It's Dark In A Cold December, But I've Got You To Keep Me Warm

Author's Note: As always, these characters aren't mine. They belong to Dick Wolf and NBC.

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><p><span>Day Twelve: Providence26: After Liv is injured on the job very close to Christmas, Alex insists she spends them with her rather than being alone and injured eating take-out over Xmas. On Xmas eve Alex has to go into work for a few hours, Liv looks for a dvd amongst Alex's collection and comes across some home movies. Alex returns, mortified to find Liv watching movies of her as a kid, but Liv looks up at her and says, "I want a mini Alex." Christmas wish granted – thank you, Santa.<span>

"Really, Alex," Olivia says, being ushered into Alex's apartment, "you don't have to do this. I'm perfectly fine spending Christmas like I normally do."

Alex rolls her eyes. "How's that – getting takeout and lounging around on your couch?" She shakes her head. "I don't think so. Now, go sit on the couch and find something to watch; I'll be back in a few hours."

Olivia pouts, settling on the couch. She grabs the remote off the coffee table and switches on the television.

Before she closes the apartment door, Alex says, "And don't you dare even think about taking that sling off. I'll know."

Olivia scoffs. "It's not even that bad."

"You were _shot_, Olivia."

Olivia shrugs, sending a searing a pain through her shoulder. Alex quirks her eyebrow at the pained expression on Olivia's face. "Fine," Olivia says, "I'll leave it on."

Alex shakes her head, the corners of her lips pulled up into a smile. "Behave yourself. I'll be back in a few hours."

Olivia spends the next 57 minutes searching through the channels on tv, then through Alex's extensive dvd collection, in search of something to watch. At the bottom of the dvd rack, there is a few small drawers, and Olivia opens them, hoping to find something that interests her.

She pulls out the dvd case marked _July 4, 1984_ and places it in the dvd player. Four-year-old Alex fills the screen and Olivia grins. "Perfect."

On the screen, Alex is running around a large backyard, her blonde hair flying behind her. The camera zooms out and Alex's older brother comes into view, several water balloons in his hands. Alex takes one look at her brother and shrieks. The camera cuts out and when it comes back, Alex is running toward her brother, the hose in her hands.

Over the course of the next three hours, Olivia watches Alex talk about her first loose tooth, learn how to ride a bike, her first school performance, and the day her parents brought home her first dog.

When Alex gets home, Olivia has started watching the video of her fifth birthday. Alex drops her briefcase and looks at Olivia, completely mortified. "Why?"

Olivia grins, looking up at Alex. "I think I'd like to have a mini-Alex."

Alex quirks her eyebrow. "Do you mind explaining?"

Olivia shakes her head, blushing. "Well, what I mean is, I'd like to marry you someday. And, yeah, maybe I'm only saying this now because these painkillers are really strong, but that doesn't make it any less true, Alex."

Alex breathes out slowly, a smile spreading over her lips. She kisses the top of Olivia's head and says, "Maybe we should start with dinner."

Olivia nods, turning back to the movie. "Yeah," she says, "that sounds like a good idea."

Alex picks up her briefcase and places it on the coffee table. _Best. Christmas. Ever._

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><p>.<p>

I really hope you've all enjoyed reading these little stories. I'm so grateful for all of you comments, favorites, and follows. I can't even begin to describe how much they all mean to me.


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